title: Diet alters species recognition in juvenile toads.
abstract: Whether environmental effects during juvenile development can alter the ontogeny of adult mating behaviour remains largely unexplored. We evaluated the effect of diet on the early expression of conspecific recognition in spadefoot toads, Spea bombifrons. We found that juvenile toads display phonotaxis behaviour six weeks post-metamorphosis. However, preference for conspecifics versus heterospecifics emerged later and was diet dependent. Thus, the environment can affect the early development of species recognition in a way that might alter adult behaviour. Evaluating such effects is important for understanding variation in hybridization between species and the nature of species boundaries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, , Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, USA.
authors.forename: Karin S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Pfennig
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, , Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, USA.
authors.forename: Verónica G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Rodriguez Moncalvo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, , Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, USA.
authors.forename: Sabrina S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Burmeister
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura / Q000502:physiology*; D001130:Arizona; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D004032:Diet; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: life history; mate choice; ontogeny; sexual selection; speciation